The use of digital cameras has increased greatly over the past few years and, with the advances in computer and related technologies and the advent of the internet, is expected to increase even more in the years to come. These days, digital cameras and the related technologies not only allow image capture, storage, downloading and manipulation, but also allow such images to be electronically, and in some instances wirelessly, transmitted anywhere in the world.
The digital camera industry, like other technology industries, is constantly striving to reduce the size of products, while maintaining or increasing the product's functionality. However, prior art digital cameras include certain inherent deficiencies, which hinder their ability to become smaller. For instance, prior art digital cameras utilize a liquid crystal display ("LCD") to frame the image to be captured and to view the actual image captured. Of course, the LCD must be large enough to enable the user to adequately view the image being framed and captured. By employing a LCD for such purposes, the camera must have a sufficiently large surface area on which the LCD will be mounted. Thus, the LCD is a limiting factor in the ability to reduce the size of the camera.
In addition to the size limitation issue, the use of LCDs in digital cameras gives rise to several other problems. Specifically, LCDs have relatively high power demands causing batteries to drain quickly. Thus, it may be necessary for users to carry extra batteries with them so that they may continue using the camera. Furthermore, employing LCDs to frame an object, especially non-stationary objects, is somewhat cumbersome because the camera must be held away from the user's body some distance so that the user can view the LCD. Framing objects in such a manner differs greatly from means traditionally employed in non-digital cameras, that is, placing the user's eye up against the viewfinder or ocular lens. Moreover, LCDs frequently experience problems of washout or glare when they are used in bright ambient conditions.
The above described problems also impact the camera design and cost, by requiring a larger case, adequate gripping means to hold the camera away from the user's body, anti-glare means, and circuitry to provide the necessary power to the LCD. Additionally, the ability to create innovative and aesthetically pleasing external designs is limited by the need to provide a sufficiently large and flat surface area to accommodate the LCD. Without the ability to create such innovative designs, certain market segments may be unattainable.
Many prior art digital cameras also utilize removable memory disks or cards to store captured images. Such disks also impact the camera's size and configuration. Moreover, these external disks are relatively expensive and, depending upon the number of images to be captured, may require the user to carry one or more additional disks separate from the camera, thereby making transportability more difficult and creating the possibility of losing the disks, as well as any images recorded thereon.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a new and improved digital camera, which does not employ a LCD for image framing and capture and does not require an external memory, thereby minimizing the overall camera size, allowing for greater creativity in camera packaging and improving transportability. Any such camera should have relatively low power consumption requirements, thereby improving battery life over prior art digital cameras. Additionally, any such camera should be compact, lightweight and inexpensive. The present invention is particularly suited to overcome those problems which remain in the art in a manner not previously known.